Relay

I will not attempt to make any excuses for my current lack of commitment to blogging. However, I can still read so I'll just provide links to a few things that I've enjoyed this evening.

A review of Thinking Politically by Michael Walzer. It's interesting because it (the review, but also Walzer) addresses one of the central problems for those of the (non-silly) Left today: how to reconcile support for a liberal society and a belief in socialism and cultural relativism. Some might say it can't be done (I would), but Walzer is not one of them.

Iraq is Not a Model, by one of Michael Totten's readers. This is an anti-war piece with a refreshingly concrete focus. I think, within its own terms, it is very good, but it ignores too many factors in the bigger picture. Nevertheless, it makes some good points.

Michael Yon in Blighty for the homecoming of the 4 Rifles. Very sentimental. I loved it.

Norman Geras reviews The Meaning of Life by Terry Eagleton. Norman Geras is one of the cleverest men about, with that real cleverness that combines high-minded learning with two feet on the solid ground. He's generous and clear-eyed, and almost anything he writes is worth reading. This is no exception.

From the same magazine, Dissent, an essay by Mitchell Cohen on Anti-Semitism and the Left that Doesn’t Learn. It's about the difference, in certain minds, between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and the width of a razor.

Finally, Riri has come closest to making me produce recently. I'm not in good form, but she is.